The White Whiskermarked Mask
by FollowTheReaper
Summary: Konoha was in the grips of a heat wave, Naruto was killed by a fleeing enemy ninja, And now he's a ghost with a Hollow mask. Sent to Soul Society by a large shinigami with a weird hairstyle. NarutoxBleach X-Over
1. Prologue

A/N: My first ever Fanfic, please be gentle…

This is Naruto/Bleach X-Over

Flames will be pissed on and used for a barbeque.

_Jutsu/Kido names in cursive_

"**Kyuubi speaking in bold"****(if there will be any…)**

"Speaking"

'thoughts'

_**Timeline:**_

**_Naruto's death, sometime before Land of Waves arc._**

So, without further ado…

* * *

The White Whisker-marked Mask

Prologue (How it all started.)

It was a stifling hot summer day, fairly rare for Konohagakure's, and all of Hi no Kuni's for that matter, mild climate.

The heat wave had come as a total surprise, causing the unexpected rise in water necessity in the city.

If one could walk on the air, they could see the villagers bustling at their daily routines, completely unawares of the tragedy that awaited one certain Jinchuuriki…

Young Uzumaki Naruto was searching for a place to rest, having walked all day carrying water on another pointless D-Rank mission, getting none of the precious life-giving liquid for himself. And with the rapidly rising cost of water, the normal D-Rank wage they got after a successful mission would not simply cut it.

And, as Oji-san had been forced to cut his allowance immediately after his exiting the academy, He was left with a dry, parched throat and a sour mood.

"Stupid Kakashi-sensei, how does he think I'll manage to live long enough to be Hokage in this heat with no water, I'll never know." And so Naruto trudged along Konoha mainstreet, muttering grim words of doom for a certain sensei.

* * *

Meanwhile, in another part of town a large rift in space began to form, usually visible only to the deceased, Shinigami or Soul Reapers as they were called, and the Hollow. Out stepped a tall Ape-creature with a strange white mask and a hole in it's chest. Releasing a wailing cry only heard by those dead, It started walking towards the delicious reiatsu it detected, completely heedless of the bewildered villagers, who were wondering why buildings collapsed on their own, carts were crushed and strange foot shaped bruises started forming on people.

* * *

As Uzumaki dragged his feet down the street, he heard a sudden commotion behind him. A fleeing enemy ninja wearing a Kumo Hitai-ate and A Jounin Vest, carrying an important looking scroll came barrelling down the street. Dumping his oh-so-precious cargo of several gallons of water harshly on the ground, he jumped in front of the desperately speeding enemy nin.

"Stop, I am Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha, and your capturer!" Stupidity was practically rolling off of Naruto…

The enemy ninja simply flashed through a set of handseals blindingly fast.

"_Raiton: Ikazuchi Hakai_" The Cloud ninja slammed his palms to the ground, sending a terrifying destructive bolt of lightning at Naruto. Naruto, too slow to dodge, the attacker being too close, could only watch in terror, as, as if in slow-motion, the bolt blasted at him.

When it hit, the Pain, the sheer Agony of your eyes being boiled in their sockets, your bones melting and your heart exploding in your chest, was horrible. The Kyuubi could only do so much to help him, and ultimately it only served to prolong his suffering. And suddenly… It just stopped. All the pain, the agony, all just stopped. When he finally opened his eyes, unknowingly having closed them earlier, he saw himself lying a few feet away, a charred slightly smoking corpse.

'The hell?' was the only thought running through his head at that moment.

When he finally got over his shock of seeing himself dead, he surveyed his surroundings.

It was the same place where the Cloud ninja had attacked him, people running around, seemingly not noticing him. The enemy nin was nowhere to be seen. There was a weird broken chain coming out of his chest, his clothes undamaged, body intact as if he'd never been attacked at all.

Suddenly, He felt a blinding pain in his chest. Looking down, he noticed the already short chain eroding even further until it was only a few links long. A large object hitting his back with punishing force startled him out of his musings. Cracking the wall which he had flown into, whirling around once he had dropped to the ground again, he saw a house sized weird-ass creature with a scary pure white mask. The creature attacked again, smacking him around like a pitiful rag-doll.

Suddenly the ache in his chest grew tenfold into a sharp piercing agony. He saw the last few links of the chain eroding away. Screaming in pure pain, he saw a white stuff flowing out of the newly created hole in his chest. After the white goo enveloped him completely, he felt a strange hunger, in desperate need to be sated.

What the other hollow saw, was a terrifying sight to behold. His "prey" had turned into one of his own kind, far smaller than his attacker, with a white grinning whisker-marked fox face, rather resembling the ANBU masks the special ops section of the Konoha ninja wear. The Naruto-Hollow still managed to cow his far larger opponent into submission by sheer spiritual pressure alone! The battle started up again in earnest. After smacking the other hollow around for a few minutes, Naruto quickly grew bored, and started devouring it. After his hunger had been slightly sated, he decided that being around so many living people was too troublesome, and went to find a good place to rest for a while.

He didn't get a chance to move anywhere, because as soon as he had gotten out of the downtown districts, he was pierced through the head by a katana.

As he came to a few minutes later, he wondered where had the white stuff gone to, and who was that strange spirit carrying a katana…

* * *

TBC…

A wee bit short, but this was only the prologue, and the prologue of my first fricking fic!

Regarding Naruto's hollowification: Too fast you might say, but I say blame Kyuubi, and his messing with Naruto's body and spirit to keep both of them alive longer.

Regarding purification: Yes, as you should know, Soul Reapers purify the hollow by killing them with a Zanpakuto, and sending them to either Seireitei or Hell.

Regarding promise of updates and longer chapters in the future: If anyone is interested, then yes, almost regular updates, and definitely longer chapters.

As always, constructive criticism is always welcome.

And, as I said in the A/N at the top, Flames will be pissed on and used for a barbeque.


	2. Welcome to Rukongai

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed, here is the second chapter of The White Whiskermarked Mask

* * *

Welcome to Rukongai.

'What… Happened?' A baffled Naruto wondered. Having had his head cut open by a sword tended to do that, especially after the painful experience of hollowification.

Suddenly a voice cut through his confused thoughts. "This is Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the 11th division, sending a soul through, priority class E." The voice was gruff, belonging to the strangely dressed person who had cut his head open. As Kenpachi slowly turned towards him, raising his long sword, Naruto panicked.

"Who are you and what are you trying to do? No, wait, stop!" Naruto screamed.

"I am Zaraki Kenpachi, captain of the 11th division of the Gotei 13."

"What?" A confused and irritated Naruto ground out… "What are you then, and what just happened to me?"

"I am a Shinigami, a Soul Reaper. And as to what just happened to you, you died, and were turned into a hollow. After you had devoured that other hollow, I purified you. Now you will be sent to Soul Society or, as the living call it, Heaven."

Swiftly hitting Naruto on the head with the hilt of his Zanpakuto, Naruto felt a warm sensation flow through him, and saw himself sinking into the ground. A black butterfly flitted off. Yelling out one last time, he was submerged completely.

* * *

When he finally came to, he was lying in a clearing somewhere, his body was aching all over, and it was hard to breathe.

'Where in the blazes am I now?'

Taking a moment to examine his surroundings, he saw a forest around him, tall pine trees reaching for the blue sky, the sun shining brightly, and the green soft grass underneath him.

'Definitely not Konoha then.' He came to that conclusion due to the fact that, because of the recent heatwave, Konoha's grass had withered and the ground had dried up. Konoha's current situation definitely did not match his present lush green surroundings.

Sitting up, he felt a pressure on his leg. When he looked down to see what was pressing up against his thigh, he saw a mask that strangely resembled one the Konoha ANBU used. It was white, with dark slashes matching the whiskerlike birthmarks on his cheeks, slanted eyeholes, and a grinning "mouth" full of sharp teeth.

All of a sudden, he heard a noise, soft whisper of the grass, and the crack of a dry twig snapping.

"Come out, I know you're there." Naruto warily shouted out.

Two teens came out of the bushes, both about the same age as Naruto. The other was a petite and pale girl with black hair and dark, kind eyes. The other was a boy, about the same height as Naruto with dark red hair and brown eyes. Both were dressed in rags of particularly low quality, obviously orphans. They watched him warily, wondering who the stranger was, and what he was doing here.

The stare-off continued for a few moments, until Naruto, tiring of the continuous nervous fidgeting, decided to speak up.

"So… Where am I? And why do I feel like I've been beaten up by herd of particularly angry monkeys?"

"You are in Soul Society, 78th district of the Rukongai to be specific. And I would imagine that you feel like that because you died." The red-headed boy told him.

"Now it's our turn, who are you?" The red-head demanded.

"Uzumaki Naruto. And I can't really remember much beyond that…"

"Shut up, Renji!" The black-haired girl hit the one called Renji in the back of his head. "I apologise for my friends rudeness, my name is Rukia, and this is Renji. We live in an abandoned house near here." There was a sad quality to her voice.

"We could show you around if you like?" Renji propositioned.

"I don't know, I wouldn't want to be a burden…" Naruto hesitated.

Rukia piped up cheerily. "Oh no, it wouldn't be a problem at all, we were just going to go get some food, we can show you around on the way."

"Okay." Naruto conceded finally.

After leaving from the clearing, the trio walked along a winding forest path, until they finally reached the edge of the forest. They were on top of a cliff, looking down at a series of run-down suburbs ranging as far as the eye can see.

"Naruto, welcome to Rukongai." Rukia said.

"How large is this place?" Naruto asked in wonderment. In the distance he could see a large white tower, surrounded by high walls.

"What is that?" He asked, pointing to the walled area in the distance.

"That? That is Seireitei, the Court of Pure Souls. It's where the Shinigami and the nobility live." Renji answered.

"And the tower?"

"It's the Shrine of Penitence, Senzaikyuu. It's where the Shinigami that are sentenced to death are kept. See the cliff next to it? That is called the Soukyoku Hill, where executions take place."

"Come on! We have to hurry if we want to get some food before the lunch-hour rush!" Rukia shouted from down the path.

"Coming!" Renji shouted back as they ran to keep up with Rukia.

* * *

As they walked down the street, Renji asked Naruto inquisitively. "What's with that mask?"

"Oh this?" Naruto asked pointing to the mask still clipped to his belt. "This is just a memento from my living days, the special ops section of my city used to wear these to conceal their identities."

"How come you have one then?" Rukia enquired from beside Renji.

"I don't know, I had it with me when I woke up at the clearing." Naruto had to wonder about that too, how _did_ he get this mask?

'A question for another day, I'll have time to think on it later.' He decided.

"Ahh, old man Jotunshiro, cheap bastard, he never sells us anything. Actually, most of the adults here think of us children as nothing but pieces of trash." Renji muttered angrily, pointing at an old man running a stall at the end of the street.

Naruto shouted. "What are you doing?" As Renji and Rukia started running towards the old man.

"Come on, follow our example and don't get in the way." They both hollered back at him, as he started running after them.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked quietly when he finally reached them near an alleyway.

"What does it look like? I tie his shoelaces while Rukia distracts him, then we run to the stall, grab the food and run like hell!" Renji described the battleplan.

"But… Why?"

"Because he won't sell us anything! And we don't have any money."

"But stealing is wrong!" Naruto shouted back at Renji.

"Naruto, if you want to survive here, you have to learn to do anything for it, even break your moral code. Anything for survival." Rukia said grimly form behind him.

"But…" "No buts, just do it!"

"Okay… But I don't have to like it!"

"No, you don't. Now let's do this!"

* * *

"On my mark. 3… 2… 1… Go!" Renji initiated the operation.

"Phase one: distract." Rukia whispered under her breath as she walked towards the old man.

"Please sir, I've lost my parents and I'm all alone. Have you seen them?" Rukia was pulling off the lost girl act extremely well.

"No, get lost brat, you're costing me time and mone…" "But please sir, I have to find them!" Rukia had large crocodile tears pooling in her eyes. The old man almost broke just then, but quickly regained his sour disposition. "No, away with you!" He yelled at her.

Meanwhile, underneath the table, Renji had tied the old mans shoelaces together, and pulled at the hem of Rukia's dress as a signal to her that the distraction was not needed anymore. Rukia quickly grabbed one of the honeypots, as Renji grabbed several loafs of bread and Naruto took two bottles of milk and a whole ham.

"Get back here you little ruffians!" Yelled Jotunshiro, trying to run after them, but tripping on the tied together shoelaces at the first step. He could only watch as Renji, Naruto and Rukia ran off with his merchandise, laughing merrily all the way.

* * *

When they finally reached the abandoned house Rukia and Renji call home, foodstuffs tucked safely under their arms, they walked in.

The inside of the house was a lot nicer than its rundown look from the outside would suggest.

There were a few couches, two beds and a closet inside, all covered in a small layer of dust.

Peeking inside the closet, Naruto saw it was full of random junk, ranging from broken chairs to dirty clothing.

"Go on, make yourself at home." Renji hollered from another room, apparently the kitchen.

Lying down on the couch, Naruto felt more exhausted than ever in his life. He fell asleep in moments.

"Come on Renji, let the poor boy sleep. You know how tiring crossing over is." Rukia whispered to the suddenly red-faced Renji, who had been going to wake him up and inform him that there would be food served soon. "Of course." Renji agreed, and went back to reading his old well worn manga.

* * *

As the days turned to weeks, and weeks turned to months, Rukia and Renji felt as if Naruto had been there from the start. He fit extremely well into their little group, tricky as a Kitsune of legend, nigh uncatchable when it came to hiding, running or deceiving people. It was scary, how well he could hide himself when push came to shove.

They continued stealing food, and survived, no, thrived on the streets of Inuzuri.

Finally, months rolled into years, and it was the anniversary of Naruto's coming to Soul Society.

"Hey, the Soul Reaper academy is recruiting again!" Renji shouted excitedly as he ran in, waving around a newspaper.

"What's so special about that?" Naruto asked disinterestedly from the couch.

"Don't you know? Soul Reapers live in Seireitei, think about it, we would finally be able to leave this dump!" Renji shouted again.

"I don't know… Besides, I happen to like this dump! And we also have to ask Rukia-chan about her own opinion on this."

"Ask my opinion on what?" Rukia announced her presence.

"On joining the academy." Renji replied.

"I think it's a wonderful idea, we can finally leave this dump, and actually get some real food to eat."

"You too, Rukia?! Oh very well then…" Naruto grumbled under his breath.

"Great, so it has been decided, we will apply for the academy tomorrow morning. Isn't this exciting!" Rukia squealed.

"No." deadpanned Naruto.

That night, Naruto couldn't sleep. Maybe it was his nervousness about tomorrow, or something else, he did not know. After tossing about, he decided to go for a stroll.

After tip-toeing past Renji's and Rukia's beds, he quietly opened the door and walked out.

As he walked down the peaceful night-time streets, he heard a sudden commotion. Turning to the source, he ran towards it in top speed, reaching the place in moments. When he glanced around the corner, he saw a gang beating up a little girl with black hair, about the same age as him. He couldn't just stand there and do nothing. He had to act. Thankfully having retained his throwing skills, he picked up a rock and flung it at one of the attackers as hard as he could. When it hit, the Older boy dropped like the sack of shit he is. As the others started glancing around in suspicion, Naruto was panicking. 'Oh shit, a small rock like that can not possibly knock a person unconscious like that...' All of a sudden remembering one of his classes back at the Ninja Academy when he was alive, he figured out the reason for the gangleaders easy knockout. 'Of course, pressure points!' Quickly sniping off the rest of the gang, he ran to the sobbing girl.

"Shh, it's okay, they're all gone now." He comforted the girl. "What's your name?"

"Momo." Hiccup "Hinamori Momo." Sob

"Come on, Momo-chan, let's go get you cleaned up, you can go back home tomorrow."

"Really?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes, you can stay with me, Renji and Rukia-chan for the night."

"Ohh, but I'll be late for the academy tomorrow."

"The Soul Reaper academy? Me, Renji and Rukia-chan are going to go apply tomorrow too!"

"Great." She squealed.

Once they got back home, Naruto cleaned and bandaged Momo's wounds, and tucked her into his bed.

Deciding to go outside to think, he left to the roof. Momo was smiling brightly in her sleep, tightly wrapped in Narutos blankets.

* * *

A/N: Next chapter, Shinigami academy!

Sorry if it's a bit fast-paced, but I want to get to the real stuff faster (namely, the mask, the Gotei 13, Naruto's Zanpakuto, and some relaxing hollow killing.)

Inuzuri: (lit. Howling Dog) South alley of flowing spirits, the 78th district of Rukongai. (and, as such, a bit rougher than the relatively peaceful 1st district.)

As always, constructive criticism is warmly welcomed, and flames will be used for a barbeque.

A bit faster than I expected, but it is the weekend, and I am bored…

Chapter size will go up once we get to the later years of the academy.


	3. Boring class

Yay, another chapter…

Now, school days, and flashbacks to the year out on the streets. Hint: includes important plot clues, groundwork for future plot devices and so much more… I know you've been waiting for it. Sorry for the earlier rushing chapters, I hope this makes up for it.

* * *

**_Boring class A.K.A. A series of unfortunate flashbacks._**

'Boring. _Boring_. **_BORING_**! How the hell can people stand this stuff?' Naruto's thoughts were obviously taking a darker turn as the class progressed. 'History of Purification and the Soul Burial? How the _hell_ is this making us better Reapers?' Yes, gloomy were his thoughts of late. 'Ah, the period starts in about 25 minutes.' He thought after glancing at the clock on the wall briefly. 'Plenty of time to daydream…'

_Flashback_

They were running through the streets of Rukongai. He did not know where they were running, but Renji was obviously leading them somewhere. Bah, to be that excited about something, it must be someplace either really fun, with something cool there, or both. As they were running, Naruto noticed that Rukia had fallen behind.

"What's wrong?" Renji had shouted out, once he had also noticed Rukia's sudden absence. Naruto just wanted to start moving again, as he felt uncomfortable to be in such an open place with hostile adults around them.

"Nothing, I'm all right." Came back the slightly muffled response.

Naruto was discernibly nervous, and was fidgeting. "Come on Rukia, we need to get moving."

When she had caught up with them, they started running again, until they reached a shiny carriage.

"Wow, what a cool rickshaw!" Naruto shouted out, and ran next to it. "It's so shiny! Come on, look! You can see your own reflection in it!"

While Naruto was preoccupied with the rickshaw, Rukia and Renji were patiently standing next to it, waiting for Naruto. While they were standing there, they overheard a couple of old men.

"That's something though." One of them said. "That brat is going to become a Soul Reaper."

"He is going to become the pride of this town!" Another one announced loudly.

"Even I want to be one."

"Stop dreaming, you need a whole lot of reiatsu to become a Shinigami." The first speaker reprimanded lightly.

"Well, that means it's already impossible for one of us." Came the subdued response.

The slide-door opened all-of-a-sudden, and out walked a nondescript man wearing a traditional servant's outfit and a straw hat.

"Get your dirty fingers away from it!" He raged at Naruto, pushing lightly, sending him tumbling to the ground.

"Hey, what's the big idea!"

While Naruto and the servant were shouting at each other, a purple-haired man wearing a Reaper uniform lightly stepped out of the house. Renji and Rukia's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the man. As the man (obviously a Soul Reaper) slowly walked past them, Rukia started trembling, unnoticed by Renji. Rukia unexpectedly keeled over.

"Hey, Rukia! What's wrong?" Renji asked worriedly.

"Are you alright?" The Shinigami had walked over to them. "Aren't you feeling a bit Hungry?" He inquired.

"No, were not hungry, or…" Was Rukia's slightly less than confident answer.

"Feeling hungry, in a world where you're not supposed to… I was puzzled at first too, but it's a fact that you have to accept." The man replied. "You must have used all your energy, in reaction to mine." He took out a box, and extended it towards them. Inside were three rice balls. "Here, eat these." He said with a comforting smile on his face. "No need to hesitate."

Rukia, Renji and Naruto watched with thankful eyes, as the stranger walked to his carriage, and rode away.

_End Flashback_

'Yes, good times good times…'

_Flashback_

Renji had his hand extended in from of him. He was screaming. Finally, flexing his arm one last time, he conjured a glowing ball of energy over his palm.

"Wow, that was impressive, Renji! Let me try too." Naruto was excited, the new Reaper academy selection exams were coming soon. Flexing his arm like Renji had done, he screamed and opened his palm. Nothing happened…

Renji was rolling on the ground laughing his ass off.

"Idiot, there's no way you can do this."

Rukia just calmly observed the exchange from the background.

"One more time!" Naruto centered himself. The result was the same as before. Renji laughed even harder. Nothing happened. At all. "I'm glad that somebody's having fun…" Naruto muttered under his breath.

But this time around, Naruto had felt something. Something like an elusive, slimy eel, unwilling to be grasped.

"Ok, one last time!" Naruto breathed out near silently.

Standing in the center of the backyard, their house behind his back, he just stood silently, still as a statue. He imagined himself jumping into a black hole. He gathered his concentration, and just stood there. Finally, he felt something. He grasped it and pulled with all his might.

Screaming in exertion, he extended his palm out, and released the pent-up energy.

It blew up spectacularly, hurling Naruto through the air. Finally he crashed into the flimsy wall of the house. Lying in the rubble of the once almost sturdy wall of the house, knocked all but unconscious by the blast, he uttered one thing. "I hate this shit." At last he fell unconscious, and consequently shook Rukia and Renji out of their respective stupors. They carried him inside and dumped him on the couch like a sack of wheat.

"What are we gonna do now." Renji asked, still slightly shaken by Naruto unexpected show of reiatsu.

"No, just no!" A scream rang out in the cool early morning air. "I am not doing that again!" The cause was an indignant Naruto, irritated by his friends proposition that they join the Reaper academy next fall. "One time is _enough!_"

"We're comfortable here, we have warm living conditions, enough water to last a while, and we have each other." This was evidently enough for Naruto, because he turned around and walked out.

"Give him a while, he'll get over it." Rukia calmly advised Renji, who had been about to run after Naruto.

When he returned a few hours later, Naruto was surprised to notice his friends were not there. They had apparently gone out looking for him. When they had at last returned, worried because they had found neither hide nor hair of Naruto, they were pleasantly surprised to see him lying face down on the couch.

_End Flashback_

'I hate Kido, I just hate it…'

_Another Flashback_

They were fishing down by the river at the edges of the district. They had not caught anything, but it didn't matter, they had each other, and it was all that they needed. Naruto laughed himself silly at seeing Renji almost drown into the knee-deep river. Yes, they were the best of friends, a true group, bound together by fate. At seeing Rukia reprimand Renji for making so much noise, he couldn't help but smile brightly. He loved this 'after'life. He had friends, he had peace. True, living on the streets was tough as hell, but as long as he had Rukia and Renji with him, he would survive 'till the end. He was startled out of his musings at seeing a few ethereal flowers softly floating down the stream.

"Flowers…" Rukia's softly spoken word floated over to him.

"Flowers?" Renji inquired. A fish splashed. "There!" Renji stabbed lightning-fast at the water. He had at long last caught something. "Yay, how are my skills now, huh? Hey guys, get the fire ready!... Huh?"

As Renji turned around, he saw something utterly indescribable. Rukia looked like an angel, with the evening sun creating an orange halo around her. She was knee deep in the water, holding one on the flowers in her hands as she gazed at it. Renji was shellshocked at how beautiful Rukia was. He had taken it for granted, having lived with her for years.

He was interrupted from his staring by a holler. "Hey Renji, are you gonna grill that fish, or do you want to stay hungry?" Naruto's yell had the negative effect of both irritating Renji, and shaking Rukia out of her ponderings. "Yes yes, I'm coming alright?" He yelled back. 'Bah, that ignoramus…'

_End Flashback_

'We were together at all times. We were a family. But it was still a crappy town with a bunch of crappy people living a crappy life after all. The adults were all either thieves, or murderers. The children were all stray dogs. The people around us were all like that. There was only one way to get out of that kind of life…'

_Flashback_

"Naruto, Renji…" Rukia sounded sad. "Let's become Soul Reapers. If we become Soul Reapers, then we can live in Seireitei, and we can move away from this crap hole."

Naruto got up from the ground where they all sat. "_No!_ I thought we already discussed this. We have a good life, we have each other, we have food, we have water, and we have shelter. What else do you need?" Naruto was shouting by the time he stopped. His friends were surprised at seeing tears leaking from his scrunched shut eyes. Naruto turned and ran off, the burning evening sun at his back.

"Give him time… He'll be alright." Renji threw the words she had uttered all those long months ago back at her face. Rukia stopped. "Yes, he will." She turned around and walked back next to him.

_End Flashback_

'We all came here alone… looking for family… and united. But, that town was a bit too harsh for a bunch of kids to survive. It had been a year since he had become Rukia and Renji's friend. Right after meeting Momo, a full month after my breakdown, we got into the academy for Soul Reapers, The Central School of Spiritual Arts. And so school life with other kids from noble families began.'

_Flashback_

"That buildings _huge_!" Naruto yelled out in shock at the sight that greeted them as they moved through the gates. The large white building was built like a palace. Their group consisted of Hinamori Momo, the girl he had saved last night from the gang, Rukia, Renji and Naruto himself.

As they slowly walked down the paved path towards the school building, they saw a beautiful woman. She had purple hair tied up in a braid in front of her neck, kind eyes and a caring smile. "I am Unohana Retsu, and I am this schools Administrator. Come this way, we'll have a small test first to determine your group."

They came to a classroom at the end of the hall. It had a domed ceiling and benches in several rows. Most of the students had already sat down. At the front of the room was a huge blackboard, with a lecturer's booth, with an old man standing next to it. He had a grey beard, with a pair of classes perched precariously on his crooked nose. His bald head shined in the dim lighting.

"Now, the assistants will be passing these tests to you. There will be no cheating, as those who do so will be thrown out and forbidden from entering, ever again."

After the tests were distributed, the teacher started a clock. "You have 45 minutes, make it count." After that, he sat down and started doing paperwork.

Naruto took a quick look at the test. "The first question: How do you kill a Hollow?" He breathed out. 'How the hell should I know? Oh well, cut through its head, I guess.' Reasoning that anything dies if their head is cut in half, he turned to the next question. 'What is a Zanpakuto? Aww crap…' The questions continued on this vein for the rest of the test.

"Now, you will give the test papers back to the assistants for grading. You can go on break after you've submitted your test."

_End Flashback_

'Oh Yes! I _aced_ that test. In the top class, oh yeah. Though this class is boring. Thankfully we have Zanpakuto training and hand-to-hand combat class next. I don't think I could survive another hour of this… The only thing comes to mind that is even _worse_ than this is Kido spells and reiatsu harnessing…'

He was rudely startled from his daydreaming by the bell chiming the end of the class. Letting out a rousing cheer, the class rampaged out of the room, leaving behind a mess. How the hell did those scorch marks get there?

* * *

A/N: Ok, another chapter. This might seem like filler, but it contains important plot devices, groundwork, and clues. Also it describes the academy, and the year on the streets of Rukongai… To kind of make up for the rushing speed of the earlier two chapters.

And also, before you start whining, I wrote this in about 6 hours, on one roll, no breaks. I will write when the inspiration hits, capiche?


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